One of the most ignored plants in the garden is the lowly, yet productive hydrangea. It is so misunderstood, abused, mismanaged, ignored, decapitated needlessly, and stressed. It is a wonder it is such a marvelous addition to the shady landscape. Every year I watch in horror when I see "professional" landscapers cut the entire plant to the ground. It is as though there is a resentment on their part that this plant recovers from this abuse so rapidly. Even when it recovers from this abuse it is a wonder it gets watered much less fed and mulched. I thought it was about time I shared my ideas for the proper care of this plant so it once again can hold up its head in pride as adding its proper space in the shade garden. Before we get into the more exotic types of hydrangeas let’s share some gardening tips on the proper care of this garden beauty. First off let me emphasize that they shouldn’t be pruned to the ground every January or whenever you or your gardener gets around to it. Hydrangeas set their blossoms on nine month old wood. If you prune the plant to the ground in January it will not bloom until the latter part of August. Using my method you can have blooms as early as April and they will continue through the fall season. Here is how you go about doing it. (See diagram). First step is to leave the plant alone. In other words don’t prune off anything. This is where you start, and you do this all year long. As a bloom becomes unsightly, cut it off to the base of the plant. Look for two opposite buds at the base of the plant and make a cut that is straight across. Hydrangeas, rhododendrons, and camellias are the exception to the rule of making a cut on the diagonal behind a bud. Remove this stem and continue the operation until all of the spent blooms are removed. Keep all growth that hasn’t bloomed. In the late fall or early winter, if the foliage looks shabby, all of it should be removed. Be careful not to pinch out the top bud. It is beneficial to spray the entire plant with lime/sulfur and saturate the soil as well. This will allow the new growth to appear in the spring free of any diseases. Regular watering is a must with the common garden hydrangea as is proper feeding. If you have rhododendrons or other acid loving plants, hydrangeas will respond to the same fertilizer formula. If you don’t have other acid loving plants, I’d use fish emulsion or VF - 11. Use fish once a month and VF - 11 every watering. Resist the temptation to prune back a shoot of the hydrangea that hasn’t bloomed. If it is in the way wait until it blooms and then prune the offending branch to the base. You can do some drastic pruning to the plant if you feel it is too thick or the blooms are too small. You just prune out some of the plant all the way to the ground below any growth bud that you might see. If you follow this procedure with any hydrangea, you will have a well behaved and beautiful addition to the shady landscape.

          There are many new varieties of the garden hydrangea on the market. Some of them are genetically enhanced to be a striking blue, `Nikko Blue’ is a prime example. Other varieties are: Hydrangea macrophylla `Floralia’. A medium sized shrub with pink flowers. Hydrangea macrophylla `Lanarth White’. A lacecap hydrangea with pink to blue center with white sterile flowers around the edge. It is a strikingly beautiful addition to the landscape. Other garden varieties of hydrangea come in pink, red and blue.          

          You can check with your local nursery to find out what they might have in stock or can special order for you. Hydrangeas love a soil that is acid. If your blue hydrangea has turned pink, it is telling you that your soil isn’t quite what it wants. You can intensify the color pink by adding oystershell lime. If blue is your color add aluminum sulfate. The foliage on garden hydrangeas should be a dark green. If they turn out pale, you need to give them more food. Also mulching around the root system with shredded cedar bark will keep them from being water hogs.

          There are other varieties of hydrangeas other than the ever present "work horse" garden varieties . Among them are Hydrangea petiolaris, H arborensis, H. paniculata, and H quercifolia. Petiolaris is called the climbing hydrangea. When given a wall to climb on, it will cover with its own clinging aerial roots. It is deciduous and only needs pruning to keep it in bounds. Arborensis is a large background shrub for shady areas. All hydrangeas are deciduous. Paniculata is a very large shrub that can grow to 25 feet. It will tolerate full sun, and in the fall, besides its large white cascading blooms, displays a deep bronze foliage. Quercifolia grows to six feet and has very large leaves which accent its creamy white foliage.